President Truman worked to contain communism by

Transcription

1 ection 2 The Early Cold War Years Guide to Reading Big Ideas Trade, War, and Migration As the Cold War began, the United tates struggled to oppose Communist aggression in Europe and Asia through political, economic, and military measures. Content Vocabulary containment (p. 538) limited war (p. 545) Academic Vocabulary insecurity (p. 538) initially (p. 541) People and Events to Identify George Kennan (p. 538) Long Telegram (p. 538) Marshall Plan (p. 540) ATO (p. 541) EATO (p. 545) Reading trategy equencing Complete a time line similar to the one below by recording the major events related to the Korean War President Truman worked to contain communism by supporting Greece, Iran, and West Germany. When Communist orth Korea invaded outh Korea, Truman and the U sent troops to aid outh Korea. Containing Communism MAI Idea The Truman Doctrine offered aid to any nation resisting communism; the Marshall Plan aided European countries in rebuilding. HITORY AD YOU Is there a conflict in the world today where you think the United tates should intervene? Read on to learn how President Truman adopted policies designed to stop the spread of communism. Despite growing tensions with the oviet Union, many American officials continued to believe cooperation with the oviets was possible. In late 1945 the foreign ministers of the former wartime Allies met first in London, then in Moscow, to discuss the future of Europe and Asia. Although both British and American officials pushed for free elections in Eastern Europe, the oviets refused to budge. Our relations with the Russians, the British foreign minister gloomily concluded, are drifting into the same condition as that in which we had found ourselves with Hitler. The Long Telegram Increasingly exasperated by the oviets refusal to cooperate, officials at the tate Department asked the American Embassy in Moscow to explain oviet behavior. On February 22, 1946, diplomat George Kennan responded with what became known as the Long Telegram, a 5,540-word message explaining his views of the oviets. According to Kennan, the oviets view of the world came from a traditional Russian sense of insecurity and fear of the West, intensified by the communist ideas of Lenin and talin. Because communists believed that they were in a long-term historical struggle against capitalism, Kennan argued, it was impossible to reach any permanent settlement with them. Kennan therefore proposed what became the basic American policy throughout the Cold War: a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies. Kennan explained that, in his opinion, the oviet system had several major economic and political weaknesses. If the United tates could keep the oviets from expanding their power, it would be only a matter of time before the oviet system would fall apart. Communism could be beaten without going to war. The Long Telegram circulated widely in 538 Chapter 15 The Cold War Begins

2 The Truman Doctrine PRIMARY OURCE The peoples of a number of countries of the world have recently had totalitarian regimes forced upon them against their will. The Government of the United tates has made frequent protests against coercion and intimidation, in violation of the Yalta agreement in Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one.... I believe that it must be the policy of the United tates to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. Truman s address to Congress, March 12, 1947 President Truman signs the Foreign Aid Assistance Act, providing aid to Greece and Turkey; the use of aid to support nations resisting Communist pressure became known as the Truman Doctrine. Marshall Plan Aid to Major Countries Finding the Main Idea What was the stated goal of the Truman Doctrine? 2. Drawing Conclusions Which nation received the most aid through the Marshall Plan? Why do you think this might be? Aid (millions) Austria Belg. & Lux. Denmark ource: The Marshall Plan Fifty Years Later. France Germany Greece U. K. Italy eth. orway Truman s administration. The administration based its policy of containment keeping communism within its present territory through the use of diplomatic, economic, and military actions on this document. Crisis in Iran While Truman s administration discussed Kennan s ideas, a series of crises erupted during the spring and summer of These crises seemed to prove that Kennan was right about the oviets. The first crisis began in Iran in March During World War II, the United tates had put troops in southern Iran while oviet troops occupied northern Iran to secure a supply line from the Persian Gulf. After the war, instead of withdrawing as promised, the oviet troops remained in northern Iran. talin then began demanding access to Iran s oil supplies. To increase the pressure, oviet troops helped local Communists in northern Iran establish a separate government. To American officials, these actions signaled a oviet push into the Middle East. The secretary of state sent talin a strong message demanding that oviet forces withdraw. At the same time, the battleship U Missouri sailed into the eastern Mediterranean. The pressure seemed to work. oviet forces withdrew, having been promised a joint oviet-iranian oil company, although the Iranian parliament later rejected the plan. The Truman Doctrine Frustrated in Iran, talin turned northwest to Turkey. There, the straits of the Dardanelles were a vital route from oviet Black ports to the Mediterranean. For centuries, Russia had wanted to control this strategic route. In August 1946, talin demanded joint control of the Dardanelles with Turkey. For more of the text of Truman s Address to Congress, see page R54 in Documents in American History. Chapter 15 The Cold War Begins 539

3 Presidential adviser Dean Acheson saw this move as another move in a oviet plan to control the Middle East, and he advised Truman to make a show of force. The president declared, We might as well find out whether the Russians are bent on world conquest. He then ordered the new aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt to join the Missouri in protecting Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean. While the United tates supported Turkey, Britain tried to help Greece. In August 1946 Greek Communists launched a guerrilla war against the Greek government. For about six months, British troops helped the Greeks fight the guerrillas. The effort strained Britain s economy, which was still weak from World War II. In February 1947 Britain informed the United tates that it could no longer afford to help Greece. On March 12, 1947, Truman went before Congress to ask for $400 million to fight Communist aggression in Greece and Turkey. His speech outlined a policy that became known as the Truman Doctrine. Its goal was to aid free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. Its immediate goal was to stabilize the Greek government and help Turkey resist oviet demands. In the long run, it pledged the United tates to fight the spread of communism worldwide. The Marshall Plan Meanwhile, postwar Western Europe faced grave problems. Economies and cities were ruined, people were nearing starvation, and political chaos was at hand. The terrible winter of 1946 made things worse. In June 1947 ecretary of tate George C. Marshall proposed the European Recovery Program, or Marshall Plan, which would give European nations American aid to rebuild their economies. Truman saw the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine as two halves of the same walnut, both essential for containment. Marshall offered help to all nations planning a recovery program: PRIMARY OURCE Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. quoted in Marshall: Hero for Our Times Although the Marshall Plan was offered to the oviet Union and its satellite nations in Eastern Europe, those nations rejected the offer. Instead, the oviets developed their own economic program. This action further separated Europe into competing regions. The Marshall Plan pumped billions of dollars worth of supplies, machinery, and food into Western Europe. Western Europe s recovery weakened the appeal of communism and opened new markets for trade. The Berlin Airlift President Truman and his advisers believed that Western Europe s prosperity depended on Germany s recovery. The oviets, however, still wanted Germany to pay reparations to the oviet Union. Eventually, the dispute over Germany brought the United tates and the oviet Union to the brink of war. By early 1948, U.. officials had concluded that the oviets were deliberately trying to undermine Germany s economy. In response, the United tates, Great Britain, and France announced that they were merging their zones in Germany and allowing the Germans to have their own government. They also agreed to merge their zones in Berlin and to make West Berlin part of the new German republic. The new nation was officially called the Federal Republic of Germany, but it became known as West Germany. The oviet zone eventually became the German Democratic Republic, also known as East Germany. West Germany was not allowed to have a military, but in most respects, it was independent. The decision to create West Germany convinced the oviets that they would never get the reparations they wanted. In late June 1948, oviet troops cut all road and rail traffic to West Berlin hoping to force the United tates to either reconsider its decision or abandon West Berlin. This blockade provoked a crisis. President Truman sent bombers with atomic weapons to bases in Britain and the American commander in Germany warned: If we mean to hold Europe against communism, then we 540 Chapter 15 The Cold War Begins

4 must not budge. The challenge was to keep West Berlin alive without provoking war with the oviets. Instead of ordering troops to fight their way to Berlin, and thereby triggering war with the oviet Union, Truman ordered the air force to fly supplies into Berlin instead. The Berlin airlift began in June 1948 and continued through the spring of 1949, bringing in more than 2 million tons of supplies to the city. talin finally lifted the blockade on May 12, The airlift symbolized American determination to contain communism and not give in to oviet demands. ATO The Berlin blockade convinced many Americans that the oviets were bent on conquest. The public began to support a military alliance with Western Europe. By April 1949, an agreement had been reached to create the orth Atlantic Treaty Organization (ATO) a mutual defense alliance. ATO initially included 12 countries: the United tates, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, the etherlands, orway, Luxembourg, and Iceland. ATO members agreed to come to the aid of any member who was attacked. For the first time in its history, the United tates had committed itself to maintaining peace in Europe. ix years later, ATO allowed West Germany to rearm and join its organization. This decision alarmed oviet leaders. They responded by organizing a military alliance in Eastern Europe known as the Warsaw Pact. Evaluating What triggered the beginning of the Berlin airlift? tudent Web Activity Visit glencoe.com and complete the activity on the Berlin Airlift. The Berlin Airlift, After the oviet Union blockaded West Berlin, the United tates delivered 4,000 tons of food, medicine, coal and other supplies that were needed every day to keep the city functioning. A cargo plane had to land with supplies every three and a half minutes. To keep the airlift running, crews stayed onboard and food was brought to them while the planes were unloaded and refueled. Meanwhile, 20,000 volunteers in Berlin built a third airport, enabling the flow of supplies to increase to 13,000 tons a day. 30 W W ATLATIC OCEA W ARCTIC CIRCLE ICELAD ATO Is Born, orth DEMARK UITED ETH. KIGDOM BELG. LUX. FRACE ORWAY E. GER. W. GER. Founding members Joined 1952 Joined 1955 Warsaw Pact POLAD CZECH. OVIET UIO HUGARY ROMAIA PORTUGAL kilometers E ITALY BULGARIA ALB. 30 E GREECE TURKEY miles Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection Mediterranean 20 E Analyzing VIUAL 1. Interpreting Which nations are the founding members of ATO? 2. Identifying Which ATO nations shared a border with one or more Warsaw Pact nations? Chapter 15 The Cold War Begins 541

5 The Korean War MAI Idea Attempts to keep outh Korea free from communism led the United tates to military intervention. HITORY AD YOU What happens to someone who disobeys a coach, employer, or teacher? Read on to learn what happened to General MacArthur when he criticized the president. The Cold War eventually spread beyond Europe. Conflicts also emerged in Asia, where events in China and Korea brought about a new attitude toward Japan and sent American troops back into battle in Asia less than five years after World War II had ended. The Chinese Revolution In China, Communist forces led by Mao Zedong had been struggling against the ationalist government led by Chiang Kaishek since the late 1920s. During World War II, the two sides suspended their war to resist Japanese occupation. With the end of World War II, however, civil war broke out again. Although Mao made great gains, neither side could win nor agree to a compromise. To prevent a Communist revolution in Asia, the United tates sent the ationalist government $2 billion in aid beginning in the mid- 1940s, but the ationalists squandered this advantage through poor military planning and corruption. By 1949, the Communists had captured the Chinese capital of Beijing, while support for the ationalists declined. In August 1949 the U.. tate Department discontinued aid to the Chinese ationalists. The defeated ationalists then fled to the small island of Taiwan (Formosa). The victorious Communists established the People s Republic of China in October China s fall to communism shocked Americans. To make matters worse, in eptember 1949 the oviet Union announced that it had successfully tested its first atomic weapon. Then, early in 1950, the People s Republic of China and the oviet Union signed a treaty of friendship and alliance. Many Western leaders feared that China and the oviet Union would support Communist revolutions in other nations. The United tates kept formal diplomatic relations with only the ationalist Chinese in The Korean War, Yalu River Inch ŏn Yellow 125 E 0 CHIA ORTH 40 of Japan P yŏngyang (East ) eoul 38th Parallel 0 Miller projection OUTH Pusan JAPA 130 E June eptember 1950 orth Korean troops invade outh Korea, driving outh Korean and U forces south into a small perimeter around Pusan. 400 kilometers 400 miles orth Korean-controlled territory outh Korean-controlled territory orth Korean advance U counteroffensive Front line Chinese counteroffensive Armistice line Taiwan. It used its veto power in the U ecurity Council to keep representatives of the new Communist People s Republic of China out of the U, allowing the ationalists to retain their seat. ew Policies in Japan The Chinese revolution brought about a significant change in American policy toward Japan. At the end of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur had taken charge of occupied Japan. His mission was to introduce democracy and keep Japan from threatening war again. Once the United tates lost China as its chief ally in Asia, it adopted policies to encourage the rapid recovery of Japan s industrial economy. Just as 542 Chapter 15 The Cold War Begins

6 P yŏngyang Yalu River Inch ŏn Yellow 125 E CHIA eoul OUTH 40 ORTH of Japan (East ) 38th Parallel Pusan JAPA 130 E eptember ovember 1950 Led by General MacArthur, U troops land behind orth Korean lines at the port of Inchon. orth Korean forces fall back rapidly, and the U forces head north into orth Korea. P yŏngyang 35 Yalu River 38 eoul Inch ŏn Yellow 125 E CHIA 40 ORTH of Japan (East ) OUTH 38th Parallel Pusan JAPA 130 E ovember 1950 January 1951 As U forces near the Chinese border, Chinese troops cross into orth Korea driving the U back. MacArthur wants to attack Chinese territory. He publicly argues with Truman and is fired Yalu River Yellow 125 E eoul Inch ŏn CHIA ORTH P yŏngyang OUTH January 1951 July of Japan (East ) 38th Parallel Pusan JAPA 130 E Led by U.. General Matthew Ridgway, the U forces push the Chinese and orth Korean forces out of outh Korea. The war bogs down into a stalemate along the 38th parallel. oldiers of the U.. 2nd Infantry Division man a machine gun near the Chongchun River in Korea, December 15, Analyzing GEOGRAPHY 1. Human-Environment Interaction What occurred at the port of Inchon in 1950? 2. Location What geographical feature forms the border between China and orth Korea? the United tates viewed West Germany as the key to defending all of Europe against communism, it saw Japan as the key to defending Asia. The Korean War Begins At the end of World War II, American and oviet forces entered Korea to disarm the Japanese troops stationed there. The Allies divided Korea at the 38th parallel of latitude. oviet troops controlled the north, while American troops controlled the south. As the Cold War began, talks to reunify Korea broke down. A Communist Korean government was organized in the north, while an American-backed government controlled the south. Both governments claimed authority over Korea, and border clashes were common. The oviet Union provided military aid to the orth Koreans, who quickly built up an army. On June 25, 1950, orth Korean troops invaded the south, rapidly driving back the poorly equipped outh Korean forces. Truman saw the Communist invasion of outh Korea as a test of the containment policy and ordered United tates naval and air power into action. He then called on the United ations to act. Truman succeeded because the oviet delegate was boycotting the U ecurity Council over its China policy and was not present to veto the American proposal. With the pledge of U troops, Truman ordered General MacArthur to send American troops from Japan to Korea. Chapter 15 The Cold War Begins 543

7 Truman vs. MacArthur Entitled ot a General s Job, this cartoon suggests that MacArthur had overstepped his authority in Korea. Analyzing VIUAL President Truman, ecretary of tate Dean Acheson, and The Pentagon are held over the flame of public opinion for firing General MacArthur. John Q. refers to John Q. Public, or the American people. 1. Identifying Points of View Which of the cartoons supports President Truman s decision to fire General MacArthur? Explain. 2. Making Inferences What does the cartoon on the right imply MacArthur was trying to do in Asia? The American and outh Korean troops were driven back into a small pocket of territory near the port of Pusan. Inside the Pusan perimeter, as it came to be called, the troops stubbornly resisted the orth Korean onslaught, buying time for MacArthur to organize reinforcements. On eptember 15, 1950, MacArthur ordered a daring invasion behind enemy lines at the port of Inchon. The Inchon landing took the orth Koreans by surprise. Within weeks they were in full retreat back across the 38th parallel. Truman then gave the order to pursue the orth Koreans beyond the 38th parallel. MacArthur pushed the orth Koreans north to the Yalu River, the border with China. China Enters the War The Communist People s Republic of China saw the advancing U troops as a threat and warned the forces to halt their advance. When those warnings were ignored, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu River in ovember. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops flooded across the border, driving the U forces back across the 38th parallel. As his troops fell back, an angry MacArthur demanded approval to expand the war against China. He asked for a blockade of Chinese ports, the use of Chiang Kai-shek s ationalist forces, and the bombing of Chinese cities with atomic weapons. Truman Fires MacArthur President Truman refused MacArthur s demands because he did not want to expand the war into China or to use the atomic bomb. MacArthur persisted. He publicly criticized the president, arguing that it was a mistake to keep the war limited. There is no substitute for victory, MacArthur insisted, by which he meant that if the United tates was going to go to war, it should use all of its power to win. Keeping a war limited was, in his view, a form of appeasement, and appeasement he argued, begets new and bloodier war. Determined to maintain control of policy and to show that the president commanded the military, an exasperated Truman fired MacArthur for insubordination in April Later, in private conversation, Truman explained: 544 Chapter 15 The Cold War Begins (l)the Granger Collection, ew York; (r)the Granger Collection, ew York

8 I was sorry to have to reach a parting of the way with the big man in Asia, but he asked for it and I had to give it to him. MacArthur, who remained popular despite being fired, returned home to parades and a hero s welcome. Many Americans criticized the president. Congress and other military leaders, however, supported Truman s decision and his Korean strategy. American policy in Asia remained committed to limited war a war fought to achieve a limited objective, such as containing communism. Truman later explained why he favored limited war in Korea: PRIMARY OURCE The Kremlin [oviet Union] is trying, and has been trying for a long time, to drive a wedge between us and the other nations. It wants to see us isolated. It wants to see us distrusted. It wants to see us feared and hated by our allies. Our allies agree with us in the course we are following. They do not believe we should take the initiative to widen the conflict in the Far East. If the United tates were to widen the conflict, we might well have to go it alone. from Address to the Civil Defense Conference, May 7, 1951 As Truman also noted, America s allies in Europe were much closer to the oviet Union. If war broke out, Europe would suffer the most damage and might well be attacked with atomic bombs. This concern that all-out war in Korea might lead to nuclear war was the main reason why Truman favored limited war. This concern shaped American foreign policy throughout the Cold War. Changes in Policy By mid-1951, the U forces had pushed the Chinese and orth Korean forces back across the 38th parallel. The war then settled down into a series of relatively small battles over hills and other local objectives. In ovember 1951, peace negotiations began, but an armistice would not be signed until July More than 33,600 American soldiers died in action in the Korean War, and more than 2,800 died from accidents or disease. The Korean War marked an important turning point in the Cold War. Until 1950, the United tates had preferred to use political pressure and economic aid to contain communism. After the Korean War began, the United tates embarked on a major military buildup. The Korean War also helped expand the Cold War to Asia. Before 1950, the United tates had focused on Europe as the most important area in which to contain communism. After the Korean War began, the United tates became more militarily involved in Asia. In 1954 the United tates signed defense agreements with Japan, outh Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Australia, forming the outheast Asia Treaty Organization (EATO). American aid also began flowing to French forces fighting Communists in Vietnam. Analyzing How did President Truman view the Communist invasion of outh Korea? ection 2 REVIEW Vocabulary 1. Explain the significance of: George Kennan, Long Telegram, containment, Marshall Plan, ATO, limited war, EATO. Main Ideas 2. Explaining How did the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan address the spread of communism? 3. Describing What originally led to the formation of two Koreas? Critical Thinking 4. Big Ideas How did the Long Telegram influence U.. foreign policy? 5. Categorizing Use a graphic organizer similar to the one below to list early conflicts between the oviet Union and the United tates. Conflicts Between the UR and the U.. 6. Analyzing Visuals tudy the maps of the Korean War on page 543. When did the United ations control the most territory in Korea? When did both sides finally agree on an armistice line? Writing About History 7. Persuasive Writing Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper explaining why you agree or disagree with President Truman s firing of General MacArthur. tudy Central To review this section, go to glencoe.com and click on tudy Central. 545